About us

In 2003, Wolfgang Proksch founded PM/D for the worldwide distribution of his ByWP brand.

His career started at the end of the 1980s, when he presented his designs to the industry for the first time, at the SILMO exhibition in Paris.

Cooperation with the manufacturer “Tractor Productions” from the French part of the Jura – which itself was manufacturing a highly unusual collection of eyewear, with which it was supplying actors and fashion magazines – and the rise of a small, sophisticated elite of designers on the west coast of the USA (LA Eyeworks, Oliver Peoples) and Belgium (Theo), in whose circles he moved, pushed his new brand, “Proksch’s” into undreamt-of spheres. Suddenly, people like Seal, Brad Pitt, Elton John, Catherine Zeta Jones, J. Lo, Mick Jagger, Liam Gallagher and even the “Queen of Less”, Jil Sander, were wearing models bearing his designs. Diana Kruger, whose leading roles have included playing Helen in “Troy”, viewed at the time as a walking advertisement for Armani and now treated as a supermodel and worldwide star, was photographed in the Lindberg Studios in Paris for the Proksch campaign, which subsequently appeared in all the top fashion magazines. Other internationally famous models such as Jodie Kidd were to follow, otherwise only ever to be seen on catwalks wearing famous names. Glossy journals from Italy, France, Germany, and NY’s “W” made Proksch’s new style familiar to their readers in many reports and fashion features. The hottest stores in L.A. San Francisco, New York, Paris, Milan and Tokyo displayed the glasses in their shop windows.

In 1998 and after a briefintermezzowith the Italian company Optiprojekt, which now goes under the name of “Allison”, he granted his name under license to Kaneko in Japan. The synergy of his unashamedly unpretentious design and the notorious quest for quality of the Japanese gave his products’ a unique radiance. Innovative, functional details and balanced proportions distinguished the decidedly modern style. Kaneko introduced the brand into its own “Facial Index” and “Complex Plus” flagship stores, in New York, Tokyo and Osaka.

1999 saw the creation of a surprising new range under the transformed “Wolfgang Proksch” label, which employed novel shapes and material finishes. The so-called “new teardrop” spectacle form, combined with unusually set arms, influenced the industry and served as a spiritual source for the very first Prada models. Design commissions followed from Oliver Peoples, L.A. for Paul Smith, from Sama Eyewear from Hollywood – including for Pamela Anderson, as well as for other international superstars such as Jennifer Lopez, P. Diddy and Brad Pitt. His glasses, reminiscent of a horizontal figure eight, were bought in a small store in Sydney before – because he wore them in the taxi scene in the first Matrix film – going on to briefly send the Americans into a buying frenzy. They were to serve as the template for many imitations, in all conceivable finishes. At that time, Wolfgang was spending more time on the West Coast than he was in Germany.

Even today – though only available through select outlets – his spectacles are cast for films, including, for example, for the lead actors in the US ‘super series’, NSI:NY.

– For years now – and above all in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong – the name Wolfgang Proksch has been a genuine cult. With impertinent ease, he pulls off the balancing act between industrial design, technical finesse and that clear, sophisticated look.

Wolfgang Proksch received numerous coveted Design Awards such as GOOD DESIGN for outstanding design.

Today PM/D is not only distributing its own brands ByWP and Wolfgang Proksch, but also the upcoming brand Thierry Lasry.

Our Brands

ByWP

ByWP – the name is composed using the initials of Wolfgang Proksch, creating a link with the designer’s name.

Glasses frames formed from wafer-thin stainless steel or beta titanium sheet with a patented screw-free hinge solution and connection assembly. Japanese material refined with an ionic coating, with hinge flexibility and hardness, paired with timeless design to produce a quality product.

The collection is defined by its clear aesthetics, reflecting a subtle sense of style and successfully combining modern fashion with industrial design language. High-tech engineering is used to shape highly flexible, wafer-thin stainless steel that is then refined using ionic electroplating, hand-polished or matte finished. New materials such as acetate or titanium give the style an alternative edge.

The innovative hinge: A cylindrical half-shell as a gliding and rotating element and spring tongues for the snap-mechanics. It encompasses a screw free solution.

Wolfgang Proksch

”Classic modernism” as design culture with an avantgarde twist, Japanese engineering and skilled handcraft lend the line its extraordinary character. A significant style element is the protected elastical revolute joint, which – in a unique way – creates a balanced spring effect. The best materials, such as titanium and acetate – both of Japanese origin are used exclusively in producing the glasses, in order to achieve the excellent haptics and visibly exquisite surface aesthetics.

Thierry Lasry

French designer Thierry Lasry launched his eponymous sunglass line in 2006.
Raised in a highly creative environment by an optician father and a designer mother, Thierry Lasry goes on to create a sunglass brand aimed at a certain elite looking to mark themselves out from the crowd.
Eclipsing their basic primary function, THIERRY LASRY shades are swiftly adopted by fashionistas as the latest must-have fashion accessory. As the new darling of the local and international fashion press, Thierry Lasry, within the space of six years, ranks among the most high-profile talents in the designer eyewear realm. Demand bubbles for his creations all over the world.

Services

We are interested to co-operate in eyewear with respected pioneers in the fashion branch or those who deal in good design products.

Sponsoring of talents

We invite and encourage dedicated open-minded designers with extraordinary talent to present ideas, apply for a job – sharing with us visions of future.

Jobs

We are always interested in new business opportunities all over the globe and therefore want to encourage you to contact us directly for further information concerning this matter.

Contact Us

For further information about our collections, services, technical help or else, please contact us using the contact form below.
You can also get information about representatives in your area or directly contact us to make an appointment to get detailed information about one collection of our diversified portfolio.